Jenny Kinne, the new owner of Books & Mortar bookstore in Grand Rapids, Mich., discussed "her transition from employee to shop owner as well as her goals for the store, thoughts on the uniqueness of independent bookstores and some of her favorite reads" with Grand Rapids magazine. Among our favorite responses from the q&a:
Looking ahead, how are you feeling about this new transition?
I was definitely nervous getting started since it's my first time owning my own business and I never thought that it would actually be something that I could do. I had to hit the ground running and I've been learning a lot. It's very impossible not to be excited in Books & Mortar. I mean it's just such a beautiful space and the fact that I can just spend my days around books and readers.... I'm just overwhelmed by all the excitement I feel about the future of owning this independent bookstore.
Can you tell us about some of the plans you have for the bookstore?
As far as things go right now, after taking over the store, everything has remained consistent. I haven't made too many changes other than bringing in some books and some inventory that I really love. I want to make sure that customers still feel completely at home in this place. [Former co-owners Christopher Roe and Jonathan Shotwell] did such a great job building it and I don't want to change too much right away. But my goal in the coming year is to try and work hard to make Books & Mortar more of a community center. I have a background in grassroots organizing so I would really love to see Books & Mortar be a place where people come and congregate, whether it's book clubs or political activist groups or nonprofit organizations or school groups.
What is the sense of community like at Books & Mortar?
If you were to walk into a larger bookstore, you probably aren't going to know the people that are there, but we know all of our customers. It's my mom and I and my cousin that all work in the store, so people get to know the whole Kinne family and we get to know them. It's really cool to be a part of this reading community, and we all share what we love about books and what we're struggling with and what we're going through in our personal lives. And it's a lot more than just a retail space.